Birds of a Feather
by musicsoothesthes0ul
Summary: Max and her flock are close, alright. Their trust is put to the test as they meet another mutant just like them, Rayne. As Rayne bonds with the flock, strange things happen to Max. Is Rayne trying to steal Max's title as leader of the flock?
1. The Freakshow

**Summary: Max and her Flock are tight, like birds of a feather. Later, they find a mutant that's **_**just like them.**_** They decide to take her under their wing. (Flock humor for ya!) **

**The mutant, Rayne, starts to blossom and becomes friends with the Flock, especially Fang. Little do they know that Rayne is trying to get rid of Max, so that she could be leader. What's the meaning of this, who is behind this, and what will happen to Max?**

**Yes, this is my first story, ever. So go easy on me, mhkay? (:**

**I do not own any of the characters, except for Rayne. **

**I update daily, and I leave the awesomest cliffhangers for you fellow readers to ponder over. (Geez I sound so professional. Bonus points!)**

**Reviews would be awesome, and cookies for all who read it. **

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You already know me by now. If you already know about the Flock and me, do skip the next three paragraphs. But those who are new on this Freak-a-Boat.. I'm Maximum Ride. I have freakin' wings that allow me to fly, yadda-yadda. I can fly up to 200 mph. (I bet you're impressed already. I would be.) The Flock and I are the far most successful experiments the stupid whitecoats did. For the first few years of our miserable lives, we lived in _dog crates._ C'mon. Way to treat the most successful subjects!

Fang, Iggy, and I are around fourteen. Nudge is maybe eleven, and Gazzy is about eight. Angel, the youngest, is six. Total, our talking dog, is God knows how old. He's already a pain in the ass. Shh, don't tell him that I said that. Then he's going to wet my bed, _again._

Since I'm only a few months older than Fang, I get to play leader. Now, now, it's not like Follow the Leader how little kids play. No, we're actually on the look for danger. We barely get enough to eat, but recently, I found out that Dr. Martinez was my MOM. I still can't get over that, how many times I turn that over in my head.

Alright. You guys know the definition of _love?_ Some might say that it is sweet poisen. Others might think that it's this warm feeling you feel inside whenever you're near that special someone. Uck. I don't have TIME for that kind of stuff.

But lately, things been kind of different.

Welcome to the Freakshow.

The Merry Family of Normal People were eating breakfast at the dinner table. Seriously, how can you eat _breakfast _on a _dinner_ table? It doesn't make any sense. Augh, maybe it's pointless to think about this. Let's just move on.

Nudge was having fun attracting metal to herself, her huge brown eyes (the same eyes that could make Bambi's eyes look like an imitation) widened everytime her fork flew into her hand. The Gasman rolled his eyes and stabbed his scrambled eggs in a violent manner. (Eww, I just had a vision of exploding Erasers for some reason).

"Dude, Nudge, that clinking sound is _so_ annoying," Iggy said, his sightless eyes glaring where Nudge is.

Nudge shrugged and dropped her fork in mid-air. "I'll never get tired of it," she said, shrugging and her smile disappearing. I hated to see my Flock disappointed, so I glared at Iggy, who was oblivious to my glare.

Fang pierced his bacon with his fork and in one swift movement, he plopped it in his mouth and swallowed. _How does that guy do it? _I wondered, narrowing my eyes and snickering, He's always the 'silent' type, but I know how he's been feeling inside, just like all of us. Except he's like a closed book. Dude, I'm getting really poetic.

Mom wiped her lips on her napkin and stared around at each person, or mutant in this case, with an almost frightening wide smile. "Any plans for today?" she chirped, like a song bird sticking out in a flock of boring crows.

I made my brown eyes turn into slits and stared at my mom. Gazzy scrutinized her face intently, "Did you have any.. strange substances at all, lately?" Nudge kicked Gazzy under the table and I heard him mutter something unintelligable. _Damn you, Iggy, _I thought, gritting my teeth. He's probably teaching Gazzy some stuff that a normal eight-year old wouldn't want to know.

Angel looked at me from the diagonal-ish of the table and half-grinned. _Max, Gazzy researches stuff,_ she said, the thought floating lazily in my head. I snickered.

Mom paused and laughed lightly, reaching over and ruffling Gazzy's fine blonde hair. "Not at all," she said, then her face took in a more serious look.

_Uh oh,_ I thought automatically, meeting Fang's intent glance across the table. We both nodded wordlessly and turned to Mom. The rest of the flock sensed the tension like good ole' children and straightened up.

"Itex hasn't been attacking you guys lately, correct?" Mom looked around at all of us, and I avoided her eyes. True that, true that. I was expecting Itex to hand deliver a bomb with a lovely red bow wrapped around it like a brand new Christmas gift.

I nodded. "So," Mom continued, "Don't you guys want to go on vacation for a while? I heard Florida is beautiful in the summer."

At once, five heads, six if you're counting Total, swiveled their heads to look at me. Hey, HEY, cut me some slack here. MY answer affects everyone else's decision, they say, Augh, sometimes I just want to tear off my wings and be a normal kid, except with two gaping wounds in my back. Ew, ew, that was gross! Moving on.

I looked down at myself in my pajama boxers, raggy tee shirt, and uncombed hair. I looked back up at the flock, drumming my fingers on the table. "Umm," I started. Good job, Max. Way to go. "Wait," I said suddenly. "What about you? What are you going to be doing?" Suspicion in my blood started to slowly climb up. Why did she want all of us out of the house all of a sudden?

_Calm down, _thought Angel, looking at me right in the eye, innocent blue eyes clashing with fierce brown eyes. _She just wants to kick back and relax. She thinks her job is really killing her. _

I admit. Being a vet could be hard work. Not that I ever WAS one, just.... nevermind.

"Think about it," Total pointed out, bracing his front paws against the table and put his little black head up high. "Florida beaches. Disney World. Home of the Miami Dolphins." Since when did Total watch football?

But the metion of Disney World made me shot a look at Fang. We saw Ari at Disney World once, and that felt like many, many lifetimes ago.

Angel sat up straighter. _Here we go. _"We could go to Sea World, Max. I've always wanted to hear what Shamu likes to think about." Great. I shot a glance at Fang and he smirked, and it said 'You decide'.

"Musuem of Natural History. That could be fun," popped in Nudge.

Gazzy nodded in agreement.

I'm losing this fight fast. I always lose.

Oh no.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

BAM. Bambi eyes from Nudge.

See, the point is, whenever Nudge flashes her uber-cute Bambi eyes, (I don't think I've ever used the word 'uber' before. Besides very epic and life threatening situations like 'uber-disaterous' and 'uber-death-attack',) I can never, _ever_ say no. Maybe I should get myself a pair of protection glasses that are specifically made to protect me from Nudge's deer-eyed stare.

"U-ummm," I stuttered, looking at Fang, then at Mom.

Fang gave me a half smirk that said 'Sap.' Gee, thanks a lot, right-hand man.

"Fine." I said, and the flock bursted into whoops and hollers like a bunch of western people in the West.

_Yeah, don't blame me if blood-thirsty Erasers or Flyboys catch us,_ I thought, watching Iggy and Gazzy slapping eachother high fives. I don't know how Iggy does that, maybe it's just instinct.

Total lept seven feet in the air, barely knocking his little skull against the ceiling. (I just had an image of Total's skull going _splat._)

"Alright, alright," I began, finishing the bacon by swallowing it whole. _Ouch._ "We pack up today, and then leave tomorrow around noon. It's expecting to rain tomorrow morning."

Iggy pumped his fist in the air. "Field trip!" He and the Gasman crowed, and they bolted toward the hallway at the same time, pushing eachother to get to their room. Fang stood up and glanced at me for a second, and walked after them. Gee, thanks for cleaning up after yourselves. One day their gonna start licking scum off of their feet and to say no to soap. _Ewww._

The girls helped me clean up the table. While I was washing dishes, Angel handed me a plate and gave me a smile that made my heart swell twice its size. You're probably agreeing with Fang. _Aww Max, you sap._

See, there are only about eight people in the world I care about (not counting Total, don't metion this to him if you happen to see a dog with wings walking along the streets). If something happens to even one of them, well, let's just say I wouldn't be going to Florida to see freakin' Shamu jumping through hoops.

_Max, what about saving the world? You're just going to leave the fact that the world is practically dying in your hands?_

Ahh, welcome back, Voice. I haven't heard from it since.. Since I thought it was permentantly gone. Which was a month ago.

_Shut up, Voice. I just want the kids to have a good time for once, ya know, without having anyone trying to KILL us?_ I stopped scrubbing a plate for a second while I thought this, scrunching my eyebrows together. Angel looked at my face, her little features concerned, as she read my thoughts. A little kid like her shouldn't even be worrying about me.

_Maximum Ride, _said the Voice. Then it happened.

The headache.

"Max!" shrieked Angel as I slumped to the floor and curled into a fatal position. Right. Max the Tough One. Just imagine a really bulky wrestler sucking a lollipop. That's kind of like me, but in a different situation.

The pain is really hard to describe, but basically it feels like a bunch of knives and needles piercing into your skull and you don't have any choice but to endure the pain and _hopefully_ die.

I heard rapid footsteps from the hallway. Probably the boys. I could distinctly hear Mom shouting my name.

_Mom, _I wanted to say, but the stupid headache won't allow me to speak. My God, this was even worse than Gazzy burning my hand with a cigerette lighter and a piece of stick.

Just then, I felt arms supporting my shoulders and head. _Max,_ a voice whispered in my ear. No, not the annoying Voice. Fang's voice.

His voice broke into the fogginess in my mind, like a spear cutting through jell-o. Augh, now I want some jell-o, but not right now because _clearly _I'm writhing in pain in Fang's arms. Way to be the leader, Max.

My wings were crushed against Fang's arms, and they hurt like crazy. The throbbing in my head finally slowed to a mild pain. I had no clue what that headache was about. I just wanted to take the kids to Florida to have some fun... but was it okay to take a break from _saving the whole freaking world?_

_Max, can you hear me?_ I recognized that it was from Angel, and I groggily cracked my eyes open.

And when I did that, it felt like I was waking up from a twelve year long nap. Oh shit.

Sixteen pairs of eyes were gazing anxiously at my face. Well, except for Iggy, who said in a mournful voice, "Well.. did she die?"

I snorted weakly and struggled to sit up. "I love you too, Iggy," I muttered. Fang gently held me down. "Don't get up," he said seriously, but I could sense a tint of relief in his voice.

Everyone was relieved that I was well enough to joke around. "Max..?" said Nudge, taking hold of my hand.

Ya know, it makes me feel better that my Flock was concerned about me. I guess Mom was the most concerned, because she was wringing her hands in front of her as if Jeb just proposed to her. Now don't panic, that isn't true. If it was, I would've drowned myself in a pool of iced tea.

I smiled painfully at Nudge. "I'm fine," I assured her, squeezing her hand. Bet ya ten bucks to say that she wasn't convinced.

Mom was still wringing her hands as she knelt to her hands and pressed her palm against my forehead. Like that would make the pain go away. "Honey, what happened?" she asked, her voice upset. If she felt the same pain, then she would understand that it was too intense to put into words.

Fang looked up at Mom with his arms still supporting me and answered, "She just had a massive migrain." _Massive migrain_ was wayyyy too simple. I felt like death right then and there.

Nudge looked like she wanted to say something. Bet ya ten more bucks that it's about Florida.

Total lept up onto my lap and butted his head against my arm. I patted his head absently. "Max," Mom said hesitaintly. "I don't think you should go to Florida right now."

The kids frowned and I thought I heard Nudge sniffle. No, I can't put down the kids.

For those of you who have little and/or older siblings at home, you might like to put them down as in:

**Big Brother: Dude, sorry man, We're not going to Dutch Wonderland. (snickers behind palm).**

**Little Brother: ..... (sniffles and runs into his room)**

**Big Brother: (pauses) HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Mom: Bob! Stop feeling yourself!**

....Okay. That was really pathetic. But the point is, the Flock has been through so much. They'd already had to run AND fight for their lives, have needles stuck to them, hunched in a dog crate for a few years in a row, etc. I could go on.

So really, I want them to be happy and try to forget about their miserable past. Well, of course they won't _permentantly_ forget it. But I just want them to be _like a normal person._

I don't spoil them. If I do, they'd be living in mansions, sipping on drinks, and barking orders to their maids.

Shaking my hand, I tried to sit up, peeling away Fang's hands. "No, I'm fine," I insisted, looking at Mom in the eye. "This used to happen when we were... on the run."

Mom looked uncertainly at all of us, and got up from her kneeling position. There were wet stains on her knees where my soapy hands smeared the floor. "Max," she sighed. She looked at me with worried eyes and exited the kitchen.

The Flock was quiet for a moment as we all sunk into our thoughts, Total lept off of my lap and climbed into Angel's instead, sighing. Fang was sitting so still that he disappeared completely. I had to brush my hand against his arm to see if he was still there.

"Well, what now?" said Iggy.

I turned my head towards him. "I dunno," I admitted. "But I guarentee you that we're still going to Florida tomorrow."

Iggy shook his head and pointed at Gazzy. I fall for this everytime, since Gaz has the ability to mimic voices flawlessly. Heck, he could mimic Britney Spears and I would be like, "Holy shittocki mushrooms."

"Even though we're going on 'vacation'-" I put quatation marks on vacation, "-we still have to be on guard for danger. Got it?" The Flock nodded.

I lept to my feet and everyone else followed suit. "Okay, Let's pack and get plenty of rest." I held up my fist and the Flock stacked their fists on top of mine. We tapped eachother's fists and broke apart. The Flock filed into the hallway and disappeared into their respective bedrooms. I was about to go into mine, but then Fang stopped me in the hall. He looked at me so intently that I avoided my eyes, flushing.

"What do you think happened?" he asked quietly.

Fang, that's a really dumb question. What happened was that my brain was about to explode for the fifth time that year.

"The headache came back," I whispered, finally looking into his dark eyes. His eyes look so.. black. It suits his personality perfectly; mysterious and solemn.

"Did the Voice say anything?" he countered, suddenly taking a step foward. Whoa there, pal. I would give you a piece of bacon if I had it, but sorry, I don't.

I stepped back, alarmed. "Um.. It just said if it was the right thing to do to take a vacation and putting the 'saving the world' scenerio on hold."

Fang's eyes suddenly had a look of longing and concern, and he looked like he was about to say something else, but he walked past me, brushing his shoulder against mine. "Good night," he said, and shut the door to his room.

_Okay-y-y, then._

I stepped into my room, gazing at particularly nothing. Each bird kid had their own room, which was good. My room was not big, not too small. It's really cozy, because Mom hung pretty purple curtains over the windows and put lime green carpet on the floor. I didn't really like a wood floor in my room. I mean, what if I fell off the bed while I was sleeping and- you know what, nevermind.

After I packed up, I threw the bags in the closet and flopped onto my bed. The bedside lamp was sitting on a wooden side table, so I turned off the lamp and lie there in the dark, looking at the ceiling. So many thoughts were swirling my mind, and one is centered on the headache. Why did it come back?

_Max, are you okay? _Angel. I thought she was asleep,

_Yes, sweetie. I'm fine, don't worry._ I fought the urge to speak them out loud.

_Just wondering, By the way, what was up with Fang?_

_Angel, you should know. Did you get into Fang's head?_

_I felt confusion, longing, and concern. He really cares about you._

_That's good. I care about him too. And the whole Flock._

_Me too, Max. I'm going to crash now. Good night._

_Night, Angel._

After the short mind-conversation, I continued to stare up at the ceiling until my eyes eventually started to fog up and close. My last thought was: Was the Voice trying to kill me?

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**What do you think? (:**

**Review if you like. I'll try to hustle up with the next chapter!**


	2. Starburst Songbird

**Hola, everyone!**

**This might not be the best chapter ever, but it was good enough to post it up. **

**Here's the second chapter.. Hope you like it. (:**

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Guess what?

I woke up to the sound of something crashing over and over again, something like pots and pans.

"WAKE UP EVERYBODY! RISE AND SHINE!" Gazzy. Figures.

Groggily, I got out of bed feeling like a senior citizen. Opening the door, I looked down the hallway just to see Gazzy marching away from me, clashing two pans together like that monkey toy that makes weird noises when it clashes the two symbols together. Yeah, replace that with Gazzy marching up and down the hallway with pans.

About two doors down, Nudge opened the door and rubbed her eyes, glaring at Gazzy. Nudge's glares are deadly, almost as bad as her Bambi eyes.

The door across from me opened, and out came Iggy, who was also rubbing his slightless eyes. "Oh, hell with it," he muttered, blinking and staring in the direction where Gazzy went. He looked in my direction and grinned. "Mornin' Max."

I grinned back. "Morning Ig. Morning Nudge." I trampled down the hallway with Nudge and Iggy following. When I passed Fang's and Angel's doors, I gave their doors a loud knock, just in case that they were still sleeping. Would you prefer to have a loud knock or pans clashing together as a wake up call?

When we reached the kitchen. I saw Fang already sitting at the table, looking like a zombie with a far-away look from his eyes. I swear, if Fang entered a zombie-look-alike-contest, he would at least be second place.

"Morning, everyone," Mom said, flipping pancakes and almost dropped one on Total, who was by her feet.

"Hey Total," I said, sliding on a stool next to Fang. "Where's Angel?"

"She went out for her morning flight," he replied, hungrily watching the pancakes flip over and over. I could _almost_ see Total's pupils flipping just like the pancakes.

I frowned. "Where's Ella? I haven't seen her at all yesterday."

Mom glanced at me for a split second before stacking a pile of pancakes on one plate and started another batch. "Ella's at a sleep-away camp. She won't be back until Sunday." Right. Today's Friday.

Wait. July 13th, Friday the 13th. Oh shit.

This is Iggy's and Gazzy's favorite day.

After eating the oh-so-wonderful pancakes for breakfast, Iggy and Gazzy immediatly took off and went to the backyard where they make explosives. Note to self: Avoid going there for two days, for safety measures.

Angel still wasn't back. I noticed. "Hey, I'm going to look for Angel." I told everyone, putting my plate in the sink and untucking my wings a bit. Ahh, that felt better. I was lying on them all night.

Fang stood up. "I'll come, too," he said. I hope he didn't see the relief in my face.

As Fang and I were walking out the door, I caught Nudge picking up silverware by hovering her hand on top of them. They instantly flew into her hand. I grinned secretly, slipping out of the door and closing it behind me.

Fang stood waiting at the end of the path, where the trees ended, and where the sky begins. Now, that sounded awfully pathetic, but Fang looked so mysterious standing with his hands in his pockets and his wings loose behind him.

Once I reached him (which took a long time, because I had to run back inside and change into my every-day clothes), we both ran, side by side, partners in crime. We gained more momentum, then we took off, our feet leaving the ground simultaneously and our wings brushing eachother as we stroked downwards. It felt so awesome to be in the air.

When we were about a few hundred feet off the ground, I angled my left wing tip slightly and started to circle the area. I glanced at Fang, who was a couple feet behind me, and he was staring right back.

Moments like this make me feel really uncomfortable, but tingly. It's not like love, or at least that's what I think. I looked away from him, feeling myself blush furiously. God, I could really use some Jay Sean right now.

We smelled smoke from up here, and we immediatly glanced down at the back yard. We saw a thin plume of smoke coming from a small pit, where Iggy and Gazzy were experimenting. Gosh, can't they do it somewhere else? I'm literally gagging up here.

"Do you see Angel yet?" I asked, glancing at the ground, the trees, anywhere where a small bird kid could be found.

Fang was scanning the air, as if Angel could fly right up to us, "Not yet.." he trailed off as a song bird flew up to us, chirping happily and making little loops in the air. The bird's colors reminded me of Starburst candy, and boy, could I use some of that now.

I stared at the little bird, tranced. "Whoa," I said, losing altitude for a second, then regaining my balance.

Get this.

The song bird actually transformed into Angel.

I forgot that Angel could change her appearance from the outside. Dude, she is really the _strangest _six-year old I've ever known.

"Hi, guys!" said Angel happily, crossing her legs Indian style and managed to stay aloft. Dude. Seriously?

"Where were you?" I asked, relief flooding into my voice. Fang rolled his eyes.

_Fang thinks you're a worry-wart,_ Angel thought, smirking at me.

_If I wouldn't be worried about you, I'd be a bad person,_ I thought, making a face at Angel. I love communicating with Angel like this. Like, for instance: We could talk about the guy that's always walking behind us when we walk home from school. If he ever decides to attack, we'd be _secretly_ planning our plan. Angel would barge in and read his mind, and BAM. Plans go into action.

Well.. That guy who follows us home from school, Iggy likes to harass him with a piece of beef jerky. Please don't mention that to Mom.

_You packed your stuff up for today, right? _I thought to Angel. She nodded at me.

I nodded once at Fang, and he nodded back. We both tucked in our wings and dove at amazing speeds. Dude, this totally beats roller coasters.

At the last minute, we snapped out our wings (_ouchhhhh_) to use as breaks. The impact hurt so much that I yelped and fell to the remaining five feet. Angel and Fang landed gracefully, snickering at me. I spat out some dirt. _Way to look stupid._

"Fang," I said, rubbing my scraped knee and glancing up at him. "Go round up Iggy and Gazzy. If they set anything on fire or something, tell them to put it out or I'm going to kick their asses."

I turned to Angel who was smoothing out her left wing. "Angel, can you go get Nudge?" She nodded, and skipped inside, whiling Fang silently rounded around the back.

I opened the kitchen door and let myself in, catching the faint smell of chocolate chip cookies. Mmm. The kitchen was spotless, and I could see Iggy and Gazzy arguing with Fang out the back window. I searched for a spare backpack and loaded that with enough food to last us for three weeks. When that pack was full, I filled up another one. Us mutants have to consume around... four thousand calories a day.

Funny thing is, we never get fat.

Mutants rock.

Just when I stuffed the last beef ravioli can in the backpack, Total trotted next to me, ruffling his tiny baby wings. "I AM going on this trip with you guys.. right?" he asked me, cocking his head at me expectantly.

If only us mutants had more than two arms.

"Total, I would let you, but I don't think we have any free hands to carry you. If you could fly, then you can." The zipper of the backpack wouldn't zipper the last few notches, so I gritted my teeth and at least tried to. The zipper broke, and I groaned. Gotta blame the date: July 13th.

Total scoffed, sticking his tiny nose in the air, "Fine. I'll practice flying." He trotted proudly out of the doggy door Fang built for him, Watching a dog attack people? That's hilarious. Watching a talking dog trying to FLY? Well, nothing can get funnier than that.

Just then, Iggy and Gazzy came in with their hair burnt right to the tip. Even their eyebrows were completely fried. Fang walked in after them, stifling his laugh.

Scratch that. Seeing Iggy and Gazzy walk in like a bunch of dumbasses is even funnier.

"Uh, GUYS?" I asked, slinging a backpack over my shoulder and staring at Iggy and Gazzy.

Iggy shrugged, brushing off clouds of dust that started to coat his sweater. "Um.. our experiment went wrong." He grinned sheepishly.

I was suprised that the house wasn't burnt down.

Angel came back with Nudge, and the girls both looked at Ig and Gazzy. Angel, however, wasn't suprised, but Nudge's face turned red from supressed laughter. I was expecting Nudge's face to go _ka-boom_ any second.

Seriously, I wasn't suprised if Dark Vader came in and started to shoot stuff out of his eyes at the Flock. Friday the 13th is supposed to be a holiday where _bad_ things happen.

Now, if he did come in here, Gazzy would be like 'HOLLYYYYYYY CRAPP!!!'

I threw the remaining backpacks to the rest of the Flock. "Alright. After Iggy and Gazzy finish cleaning up-" I shot a hard look at Gazzy, and he grinned back, "-we can leave."

"Max," said Fang as everyone else went to do their thing (and when I say _do their thing, _I mean Iggy drooling over swanky models on Google and Nudge repeatidly killing her Sims on Sims: Nightlife). "I thought I saw Total jumping off trees and _attempting_ to fly.

I smirked. The image of Total furiously beating his tiny wings and jumping off a tree flashed into my mind. "You did," I said simply, zipping another backpack stuffed with Chef Boyardi. A can fell out of the pack and rolled across the floor.

"Oops," I muttered, bending down and reaching it with my hand,

At the same time, Fang bent down and reached for it,

Big mistake, dude.

We both looked up at eachother. His face was _so close._ I felt his breath wash over me, and I flushed. Geez, his breath was so _minty._

This is weird to say, but right then and there, _I just wanted Fang just kiss me._

_Max?_

Holy shit. Angel's voice scared me so much that I lept backwards on my butt, with my hand clutched to my chest. Fang looked at me as if I just had a spaz-attack right there. _Thanks Angel,_ I thought, still flushing.

"Uhm," mumbled Fang, tossing me the ravioli can. I caught it with one hand and stuffed it back into the backpack, zippering it. I felt Fang's eyes piercing the back of my head, but I refused to look back.

Our moment ended just as soon as it started.

Total walked back in with his tail up high and a smirk on his furry face. "I've finally got it!" he exclaimed, breaking the awkward silence between Fang and me. Total lept up on the table and started to do a little dance. He lept off the table before I could swing at him with the twenty-pound backpack.

I grinned at Fang, and instantly, the tension between us vanished.

Mom came around the bend and spotted me, smiling. "Honey, make sure you call when you get there, okay?" she said, coming over and hugging me close. I hugged her back, burying my face into the nape of her neck. Seconds later, the whole Flock joined and we were just standing there, hugging eachother. Aww, let's just hope it won't turn out into a huge sob-fest.

After a few minutes, we finally broke apart and each bird-kid got a huge backpack. The smaller kids like Gazzy and Angel are able to carry heavier loads than normal humans. That's a plus to the many negative things to our appearance/being.

"We're going to Florida!" shouted Iggy, running out of the house with Nudge and Gazzy following, singing, 'I'm Walking on Sunshine'. Kinda cheesy.

Everyone began to run at the same time, then we snapped our wings, My brown and white splattered wings brushed Angel's pure-white wings. "Max, what were you and Fang doing in the kitchen?" she asked me while we were high up in the air, maybe a few hundred feet.

I coasted on a current, angling my wings a bit as I cruised along. I pondered over the question a bit, and shot a quick look at Fang who was flying off to my side, to my right, his dark-cloaked figure standing out like a hotdog in a candy bar display.

Total was accompanied by Nudge, who was urging him to flap his wings when he paused for even a second. Compared to us, Total was like a little dragonfly.

"It was nothing, sweetie. Don't worry about it." I looked at Angel, whose face was so serene and peaceful that I teared up, knowing that that expression wouldn't be like that forever.

Angel nodded. "Alright, Max," she said reluctantly. Something tells me that she would hold onto this conversation.

I shot another glance at Fang, and he was staring right back. I grinned at him and whipped my head forward, angling my wings to the right and changed our course.

Besides Gazzy singing a Lil Wayne original, no one disturbed the comfortable silence.

We're going to Florida, baby.

**I ran out of cookies, so here's some turkey for all of you. **

**I hoped you like it; review and give me some tips and comments. Next chapter would be coming up shortly.**


	3. Nudge's Power and the Unexpected Guest

**Woooot! Third chapter! *tosses bits of turkey in the air***

**Mudfur6242, thanks for the review. (: Now you get what you want, so some ravioli for you. (Holy crap, that rhymes!)**

**I might be slow updating for a bit, because of school and stuff. But I promise I'll update as much as I can.**

**Warning: This chapter may contain some Iggy-pervertedness and some harsh marshmallow grilling.**

After a few hours of flying East, I knew we flew across Texas (because of the bloody heat) and we're just passing Arkansas because of the famous city, Little Rock.

"I'm tired," said Nudge, who was staggering a little while flying, if that was humanely possible.

"And hungry," Gazzy added, rubbing his stomache. I just had a vision that Gazzy was fat... but he's really skinny - nevermind.

I looked over at Fang, and we both nodded at the same time. (See, we don't need to speak out loud, we know eachother that much.) Fang brushed Iggy's sleeve and as one, the Flock aimed downwards toward a bundle of trees.

Everyone tucked in their wings, dive-bombing toward the trees so fast that tears were starting to leak past my eyes and flew behind me. I was expecting someone to scream that they had water in their eyes.

_Whoosh._ Everyone snapped out their wings at the last minute, and I felt myself being rocketed a few feet in the air, Gosh, maybe I should think of a new technique to land. Someday, Nudge would land and find her wings still in the air where we left them. _Ewwww._

Fang was so still, that he disappeared again. "Boo," he whispered in my ear, and I jumped, shrieking, I will never get over the fact that he could do that now, without me noticing. It's going to be a pain in the ass.

"I see a fast food restaurant by our left," noted Nudge. Of course, I wasn't suprised that she could sense _food_ but not _danger._

One by one, we blended in with the lush forest. The restaraunt was half-hidden by a bunch of evergreens, so we emerged out of it as if kids coming out of forests every day was normal. Good thing we brought our windbreakers. The downside was that our backs appeared to be slightly deformed. If only they knew.

I did a quick 360 around the area while the rest of the Flock filed into the restaraunt. Gosh, I gotta admit, Arkansas is _purty._ There was a lake near the restaraunt with trees lining that. I could hear the distinct sound of frogs croaking.

"Max?" said Fang, holding the door open for me, _Such a gentlemen._

"Ah, the smell of fresh grease and reheated meat," said Iggy, sighing dramatically and placing a hand on a weird looking cardboard cut out that resembled Donald Duck, except his beak was reallllllly long and it was wearing burglar clothes. "Mmmm, he's sexy," Iggy murmered, touching the cardboard with his right hand and _feeling_ the colors.

I rolled my eyes and scanned the menu board above the bored-looking employees at the cash register. They have CHILI dogs here.

"Ooh! I want three of those chili dogs!" blurted Gazzy, squinting at the menu board. "And two of those chocolate fondant milkshake thingies." Chocolate fondant milkshake thingies. They should name the next desert that, in behalf of Gazzy,

I nodded, and mentally keeping that in my head. "Angel? Nudge?"

Angel pondered for a second, then said, "Can I have four chicken clubs?" I guess some people overhead because they're staring at us as if we never had food in our lives. At one point, we did go through that, thanks very much.

"I want three of the chicken BLTs and two large fries," Nudge said, licking her lips and jumping up and down a little.

"Dude, there's the bacon/beef snack wrap," Fang whispered to Iggy. Iggy nodded eagerly. "Hear that, Max? I want four of those." This is going to add up to a lot, I thought miserably. Fang ordered the same thing as Iggy.

By now, the employees had a look of disgust on their faces by the time I finally manned up and ordered.

It felt like an eternity just passed when we finally got our food. The bill was, suprise, $210.23. I wasn't suprised, since I had three hundred dollars _in cash_. I'm a walking ATM.

"Max, can you walk any faster?" sighed Iggy, brushing past me and sliding into our booth, next to Gazzy. Nudge slid next to Iggy, so I was left to sit with Fang and Angel. _Great-t-t-t._

"Ohhh yesss," moaned Iggy, grabbing his wrap and sinking his teeth into it.

So basically, the next half hour, you could hear slobbering sounds from Gazzy and Iggy, chomping noises from Nudge, the delicate chewing sounds from Angel, and absolutely _nothing_ from Fang. Damn, I was a huge pig compared to him.

Something happened in the next minute.

Nudge had her hand over her fork, about to pick it up, and then it just flew into her hand.

"OH MY GOSH!" A little child cried, staring at Nudge in horror. Nudge's face reflected his. I have a bad feeling that it was going to go downhill from there.

The kid's mother rushed to his side and eyed us suspiciously. "What's wrong, Jimmy?" I glanced at Fang, and I could tell we were trying to contain our laughter.

Nudge was smiling pleasantly at the kid, but I could tell that she was frightened. "Um, nothing," she said holding up her hands in surrender.

All of a sudden, all of the forks within two yards flew into her hands. She yelped in horror, shaking them off. The kid screamed and so did the mom. What a motherly thing to do.

"Out!" I yelled, jumping over the kid who was crouched on the floor as the restaurant came to life and pointed at Nudge as if a little girl like her could do so much damage. I grabbed Total and Nudge's hand on the way, and _threw_ them into the air outside. Fang was hustling Angel, Gazzy, and Iggy, and they flung themselves in the air, also. I was the last one to go, and I could hear police sirens in the distance. _Good grief._

I tore off my windbreaker and snapped out my wings, stroking downward just as a bunch of people flooded out of the restaraunts, staring with open mouths at the Flock, who were hovering a few feet off the ground. "Go, go, go!" I screamed, speeding up into the sky. Fang followed, and so did the rest of the Flock,

It's like everywhere we go, danger follows like a hungry cat.

From then on, we never stopped, until dark came and ate us up.

* * *

"I never finished my chocolate sundae," Total whimpered, flapping furiously to try to catch up to us. Angel held out her arms and Total gratefully flew up to them.

I snorted. "So would you rather give up your sundae to escape from danger OR would you rather be a moran and stay there, long enough for the cops and stuff to catch us?" Total fell silent, and I could tell I offended the poor thing.

Fang glanced at me silently, and I glanced back. "We should find someplace to land," he suggested quietly, nodding towards the inviting forests below.

Iggy hurumphed. "That wrap was about the best damn thing I've ever had," he said, folding his wings and dive-bombing into the forests. One by one, the flock followed.

Nudge was silent this whole time. Poor girl, she probably thought that this was her fault. It's really the freaky scientists back at the School who made us like this.

Once we landed, we got a fire going and huddled around it like chicks around the mother bird, pleading for worms. We're pleading for warmth.

"Nudge, are you okay?" I murmered to her, casting a glance at her from across the fire. Shadows seemed to eat up her face, and for once, she didn't have an answer. Iggy put an arm around Nudge and she leaned onto his shoulder, burying her face in it. This made my lip quiver, and I turned away from the Flock so they wouldn't have to see it.

"What happened back there was nothing," Gazzy muttered, thrusting a stick with a marshmallow pierced through it. Hey, we found the marshmallows when we landed here, so might as well use them,

"No Gazzy, that was really something, We could've been caught." Nudge finally spoke, gazing at the fire with longing in her eyes. Fang handed her a marshmallow on a stick.

"I have a theory," Fang said so quietly, that normal humans would've missed it. We all turned our heads toward Fang, waiting. "I think of Nudge is under any deal of stress, things like that just.. happen."

We all pondered over this, and the sound of Gazzy's hiss broke the silence. "I burnt my tongue," he said, smacking his lips together and making a weird face. I laughed a little, reaching over and ruffling Gazzy's hair.

Nudge had her marshmallow in the fire too long, and it started to turn black. She kept it in there, and the Flock watched it as it slowly began to burn into a piece of mushy coal. (I just had an image of Santa stuffing mushy coal in our stockings for Christmas.)

She finally threw it over her shoulder, and we all heard the sick _splat_ as it landed on something far behind us."That sounded lovely," Iggy said, hopping to a tree trunk and dangled his arms and legs. He instantly fell asleep.

The rest of the Flock stacked fists and climbed up to their own tree, nestling on the crooks of the old trees. Perfect trees for mutants like us to sleep in.

"I'll keep watch," Fang said so quietly, that I thought it was the wind blowing. I nodded, curling up on my branch, wings out and resting, arms dangling like Iggy's.

_Let's just hope no one tries to murder us tonight,_ I thought as I watch Fang disapear. No one would be able to see him, yet, he would still be sitting right there.

_You got that right, Max, _Angel said. I thought I heard her snicker, and I smiled in my sleep, secretly wishing we would stay like that forever.

I guess I was in the middle of dreaming about fairies and butterflies when someone gently tapped on my wrist. "Whaaa?" I mumbled, cracking my eyes open. Half of me was alert and looking for danger, but the other half thought, _whoever the hell it is, this better be good._

Fang put a finger to his lips and shushed me. He barely nodded his head to the right. Following his head-tilt, a person about a couple hundred feet away was kneeling over a small pool of water. Since her back was to us, I couldn't really see what she was doing. THEN I saw it.

Their hand was bobbing up and down, and a string of water from the pond was following it.

Tacky.

"Fang," I whispered, barely moving my lips. "Who is she?"

Fang shrugged and kept on looking at the person. It was still dark, and we only caught an outline of the person. But the water moving with the hand was unmistakable, even for our raptor vision.

Our marshmallow bag was still half-full, and the smell of burnt marshmallows and smores wafted into the person's mouth. They sniffed, and turned their head to our direction. I pretended to be asleep, my back to the person, and Fang used his useful invisibility power.

I could tell the person was a female, because of the slim figure.

There's something else about her.

There was something bulky and feathery-looking on her back.

I heard soft footsteps approaching us, but my eyes stayed close. I really, really hope she wouldn't try to rape Fang or anything. That's Iggy's job.

"Who are you?" said Fang calmly, appearing into view. The girl shrieked and fell back on her butt, causing the rest of the Flock to awaken. Smart job.

The girl was darn pretty though; she had black hair that fell around her shoulders and crystal blue eyes. Her features was skinny and fit, and she had a long scar along her right arm. I imagined that she was beaten by a bull whip. _Owww._

Her hand was clutched to her chest and she scrambled backward, fear in her eyes. Yeah, we're used to that already.

"I asked _who are you?_" Damn. Fang could be a badass sometimes. I would _not_ want to run into HIM in a dark alleyway in.. Arkansas.

The girl had a tattered white shirt with dirt stains covering it. Her jeans weren't anything like Juicy or Abercrombie. They look like jeans that a hobo would wear... no offense to them or anything. "U-u-umm," she stuttered. Even in the dark, her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

I casted a glance at Fang and he rose his eyebrows, his expression saying _What should we do now?_

The girl's lip started to quiver, then she just broke down crying. She turned and ran away, her loud sobs echoing over the forest. It reminded me of a bird's last call.

I risked a glance at Fang, then took off. Dang, she was pretty fast. I had a little hard time trying to catch up to her, but I grabbed her arm when she tripped over a stone. The girl didn't resist; she just stared at her bare feet.

My eyes started to widen because one, her eyes glowed in the dark and two, she had _wings._ Who knew Itex could be so kind-hearted and create another mutant?

There shouldn't be any more in this world.

"Who are you?" I repeated Fang's question. I tried to sound menacing, but from lack of sleep, my voice sounded foggy.

The girl looked behind me and finally noticed MY wings; all tucked in neatly. She avoided my eyes when she said this, "My name is Rayne. I don't think you would want another freak to follow you around."

She turned and walked away, but I tightened the grip on her arm. "Itex." The word made her shiver, and the night seemed to stand still,

Without another word, we both turned on our heel and walked back to the Flock. Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel were sitting on the tree branches, eyeing Rayne.

_Any evil thoughts from her?_ I thought to Angel, keeping a safe distance from Rayne,

_No. She's scared, confused, and hurt._ At least she wasn't working for Itex.

Fang was leaning against the tree trunk. He casually walked over and stood across from Rayne, his head three inches taller. He scrutinized her; and finally noticed her wings. Ya know, if I see a person with wings walking around, the first thing I would notice is, well, their _wings, _yes?

"Did wack-o scientist create you?" Fang asked quietly, his dark eyes on Rayne's.

Rayne bit down her lip, and managed to nod, Welcome to the Freak Club, Rayne.

When Rayne turned to look at me uncertainly, it happened _again_ for the second time in two days.

The headache.

Death wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Why does this keep on happening?

**Baaadaaaa!! I threw in Rayne. There's gonna be a lot of drama and action coming up. (:**

**Thanks for reading this guys. The next chapter will be the best yet. Read&review.**

**Turkey-bacon for all!!!!**


	4. Rayne: Water Manipulator

**Ahh, sorry, it's been awhile. Like I said, I'm busy with school and stuff like that, but I'll try to be more frequent with updating new chapters and such.**

**Thanks, ****UNDERLANDERfromtheOVERLAND, for reviewing. I'm sorry for not being specific about the restaraunt they were in, but it's not McD's. I totally would've wished, though. But then, if it WAS McD's, then Nudge's fork catastrophe wouldn't happen.**

**And for those of you who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, read the last few chapters, doofuses! (just kidding.)**

**I may be slow in updating and crap like that, but I have school (as do the rest of you youngin's). **

**Here's chapter four! -confetti-**

The pain this time was much, _much_, worse than last time. I heard a high keening sound, miserable and so _high _that it may break your eardrums. I realized that it was me.

My only thought going in my head, as I lie there on the muddy ground in the same fatal position, was _hell, just kill me._

Of course, if the headache killed me, I wouldn't be around to save the world, and I guess the whole point of the Maximum Ride series would be worthless.

And the Flock would be leaderless.

I didn't want to go that far.

"Max!" A couple of voices startled me, as if someone was treading into a calm, undisturbed lake. I couldn't answer back, because it was clear that I was _writhing in pain._

Tears flooded over my closed eyes and I screamed again as the headache went away. Shouldn't I be happy? The reason was that it didn't _kill_ me. There are chances that it would come back again, and I would have to endure the pain all over again.

People and things like Jay Sean and chocolate would _so_ not soothe me right now.

I felt gentle fingers touching my shoulder. "Max?" a quiet voice said, the tone screaming _CONCERNED._ None other than Fang.

Opening my eyes, I looked up at eight concerned looking faces, including Total, who was sitting on my legs. "Dude, something's wrong with you," Total stated, frowning.

"No freaking _duh_," I replied, putting my hands over my face and letting out a huge sigh. Fang and Rayne bent to help me up, and Rayne just stood there awkwardly, avoiding our eyes.

"You never told me who you are," Fang said, glancing over at her with an _I'm-about-to-make-my-first-impression-but-it's-going-bad-so-far_ stare. I almost laughed, the pain in my forehead numb, but still there.

"Rayne," she said, staring longingly at the lake that was beside our little campsite. If you could call a small fire and a few bags of marshamallows a campsite. "I'm also a.. water manipulator."

The Flock's eyes all widened, including mine. "So, you can like, shift water in air and stuff?" Gazzy asked, inching forward and gazing curiously at her glow-in-the-dark blue eyes. You can get them at K-Mart. Although, I prefer Wal-Mart. You know what? Nevermind.

Without a word, Rayne walked over to the lake, and the Flock followed.

Since it was still night time, the moon's reflection casted an ominous glow over the lake, and it was as if it was made especially for Rayne. She walked to the water's edge, the mud making weird sloppy noises.

And let me tell you, what she did was the most awesomest thing I've ever seen in my horrible life.

Rayne took a deep, slow breath, and rose her arms up into the air. The water moved with her arms, and created a huge chunk of water right in front of us. I was expecting it to crash any minute, but then she spun in a circle, swishing her hands back and forth. The water created a huge wall around us, like the Great Wall of China. Except.. it's made of water.

In awe, Angel walked over and placed a finger through the water wall. The water splashed on Angel's finger, licking it hungrily, before she pulled it away.

Nudge and Gazzy had eyes as wide as dinner plates, staring around the wall of water. I heard Nudge swallow. "Oh my gosh," she whispered.

I could tell Iggy was really pissed, because he had an expression on his face that said, _I'm going to kill anyone who utters another word._ Fang's face was expressionless, like always, but I could tell that he was amazed just as much as the rest of the Flock.

I wanted to walk through the water wall, but it took everything in me to NOT do that.

Rayne hissed in a breath, and with her outstretched hands, she clenched her hands into fists. The water wall turned into an ice wall.

Now I was glad that I didn't walk through the wall at that moment. _Get your Max-icles! Only a buck fifty!_

Two seconds later, the ice exploded and turned into snow. Maybe snow is too soft to describe the word.. maybe it felt like HAIL.

The Flock's eyes were frozen-open where the wall was supposed to be. Rayne was panting a little, prespiration beading her forehead and her neck.

Iggy's mouth turned to the side, looking ticked. "Gaz, you have five seconds to tell me what just happened," he said murderously, and Gaz filled in what just happened, Iggy nodding every now and then.

Rayne turned back to us, her eyes searching mine and Fang's. "I could do a lot more, but I just don't have the energy now," she said, looking at the ground.

Nudge and Angel were silent, but then they bursted into cheers. "Wow, that was incredible!" Nudge spluttered, grinning. Angel nodded excitedly and started to tug on Rayne's hand. "C'mon! We'll get you smore's."

So much for trusting a total stranger.

I was about to say something, but Fang shot me a look. "Let it go," he murmered, walking after Rayne, Nudge, and Angel. Total was trotting with Gazzy and Iggy, occasionally adding on things Gazzy had missed. I walked beside Fang. "We can't trust her that easily," I said nervously, glancing at Fang.

Fang put his hand on my shoulder, and I felt my cheeks warm up to about two hundred degrees. He looked at me, concerned, probably thinking about the headache. "Take it easy," he said simply. We walked the rest of the way, saying nothing.

A stranger eating our smores? That I can cope. A stranger becoming one of the Flock? Well, I don't know how I'm supposed to deal with that.

* * *

"So you ran away?" Nudge asked, poking her stick with her marshmallow attached to it in the fire.

Rayne nodded. "They did horrible things to me," she said, then shuddered. I know exactly how you feel, girl. Needles, blood tests, x-rays galore. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"How long have you been on the run?" Fang asked, pity in his voice. I was suprised; normally, Fang would keep his wall up, for safety measures.

Rayne shrugged, avoiding everyone's eyes and stared at the fire, getting lost in the angry, thrashing flames, which were hungrily licking at Nudge's marshmallow. Nudge whipped her stick away from the fire and slid the marshmallow between two graham crackers. She slapped a chunk of chocolate in it and handed over to Rayne, who smiled politely. She bit into the smore, closing her eyes for a second. She reopened them and looked at Fang. "I've been on the run for about two years now. I'm suprised that they made no move to catch me."

Really? No Erasers or Flyboys that try to decapitate you?

I grinned stiffy at her, deciding that we should give this poor girl a chance. "Anyways.. I'm Max." I pointed to Fang. "That's Fang. That's Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and Iggy." They all mumbled their hellos, and Rayne flushed lightly.

The crack of dawn (that reminded me of an old crackhouse Fang and I discovered so long ago) appeared over the rest of the hills. The skies changed from dark blue to light orange/pink very quickly, and suddenly, I missed the night.

"I guess I should be going." Rayne stood up, shoving the rest of her smore in her mouth, and was about to walk away when Angel grabbed her ankle. Gosh, just replace Angel with a zombie and ta-da, a zombie movie.

"You should come with us!" Angel pouted, still holding on to Rayne's ankle.

Rayne was prettier in the sun, especially her eyes. They're like a crystal-ice blue. Better than my doo-doo colored brown eyes. (Sorry, Mom!) Rayne's wings were butterscotch colored, as if light caramel sauce spilled over them. If they really happened and a mad scientist really did that, well, I have no comment.

Rayne was really gorgeous.

But I'm still cautious.

Angel shot me a look, still holding onto her ankle. I wouldn't be suprised if there are nail marks from Angel on Rayne's ankle. _Max, give her a chance,_ Angel thought, looking away with me, scowling. That is no way to treat your leader, sista!

Rayne looked at the sunrise longingly, which was now casting light pink streaks across the sky as if an artist whipped his brush across the easel in disgust, because he thought of Erasers.

Why is everything related to Erasers these days?

"Where are you guys off to?" she asked without turning around. I shot Fang a look, and he glanced back, calm. "We're off to Florida," he said, coming over to stand next to Rayne. Fang was about two inches taller than Rayne, and they had the same shade of hair; glossy and black. Fang's dark wings went pretty good with Rayne's, like an oreo cookie.

Gaz and Iggy had fallen asleep in the big oak tree, their arms and legs dangling, their mouths open. I thought I heard Gazzy fart. "Yeah, we're going to Disney World," I said, nodding toward Nudge and Angel, who were now hanging on Rayne's legs. "The kids want to go."

Rayne shot me and Fang an amused glance. "At a time like this? Aren't mad scientists and whatnot after you?" As if. _Nahh, they just wanted to sell us Flyboy parts._

Fang went over, tapped on Gazzy's and Iggy's hands, and bent down to sling a backpack over his shoulder. "Apparently, they decided to lie low. We're taking the chance to be kids." He shot me another glance that said, _but we're still on a lookout._

Gazzy sat up on his branch and yawned. He fell backwards and landed on a pile of random leaves. "Fang, please get my backpack?" he moaned, waving his arm in the air. I grinned and tossed Gazzy his backpack, and it landed on his stomache. I heard Gazzy's breath go _whoooooooooosh._

Iggy jumped down and was groping around for his backpack and crashed into Rayne. "Um, sorry," he stammered, skittering away and snatching up his backpack. Is Iggy blushing? Damn.

Rayne blushed lightly and helped me and Fang to clear up the campsite and trodding away any evidence that freaky mutated bird kids were here in the first place. Next thing we want is Angel manipulating minds and Nudge attracting MORE forks.

"Alright, up and away," I said, gesturing towards the open space in front of us. The lake was located on the far side of the lake, and when Angel took off at a running start, her feet skimmed the lake's surface, causing a bunch of ducks swimming frantically away. Gazzy, Nudge, and Iggy followed suit, unfurling their wings and pumping upward.

I motioned Rayne to go before Fang and I, and she nodded, avoiding our eyes. She took a running start and unfurled her butterscotch wings. They were pretty big, maybe bigger than my own wings. Well, nothing can be bigger than my wings, besides Fang's and Iggy's. Fang stood there with an awed expression on his face, as if he never saw a kid fly. Nah, every single DAY he does. I felt jealousy flaming up inside, and I bit the inside of my cheek.

Once the Flock, including Rayne, was in the air, we flew in a loose Vee formation, me in the front and Fang and Rayne flocking my sides. I looked over just in time to see Fang and Rayne exchange happy glances, and I felt the jealousy all over again.

_Max?_ Angel.

_Yes, sweetheart? _I used one of the techniques my fellow hawk friends taught us, banking with one wing moving faster than the other.

_Nevermind._ I could almost feel the sweet-coated sugar on Angel's voice.

Great. The last thing I wanted was a six-year old to butt into my love life.

**Not the greatest chapter, but hey, it's something.**

**Review&read! Or is it the other way?**


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